We are deeply saddened by the passing of Edward Sexton, who was an exceptionally talented cutter and one of the great pioneers of Savile Row.

Edward changed both the way men dressed and the way menswear was marketed when he famously co-founded the tailoring house Nutters with Tommy Nutter. Backed, amongst others, by Cilla Black, Nutters opened on Valentine’s Day in 1969 and introduced an exhilarating, fashion-forward approach to bespoke Savile Row tailoring. Savile Row had long enjoyed an unmatchable reputation for craftsmanship, but with the arrival of Nutters it quickly became a centre of contemporary men’s – and, importantly, women’s – style.

Eschewing the more conservative traditions of our street, Edward introduced a new approach, accentuating and re-shaping the traditional lines of the suit to create a bolder, braver, more expressive silhouette. Shoulders were bigger, waists more nipped-in, and lapels and trousers more pronounced. He also made original use of colour, with lapels and pockets occasionally made in carefree contrast to the cloth of suit bodies. Patterns were also enthusiastically played with. Someone who was there at the time was Joe Morgan, of Savile Row Bespoke Association (SRBA) member Chittleborough & Morgan. “I was working at Jarvis & Hamilton on Clifford Street and Tommy used to walk past and wave,” he recounts. “Someone told me Nutters needed an under-cutter. I applied for the job and Edward and Tommy interviewed me. They were in the fitting room and they called me in. They were fitting a white gabardine suit and I saw how they worked it to read the way they wanted it to. They had a look that they wanted their clients to be a part of. They were the first tailors on Savile Row that allowed men to express themselves with their clothes. It was all new.”

This innovative approach was presented in a new way too. Nutters was the first Savile Row tailor to dispense with frosted glass and have an open-front window so people could see inside. Deep, chocolate-coloured carpets covered the floors and big, salvaged gilt-edged mirrors adorned the walls. Bolts of cloth were presented in dustbins. There were stuffed rats… Everyone who was anyone made their way to 35A Savile Row to see this and the man they called the ‘wizard with the scissors’. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr on the cover of the Beatles’ Abbey Road album (pictured, middle), Mick Jagger for his marriage to Bianca (pictured - she wore Yves Saint Laurent), Elton John on uncountable occasions, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, David Bowie, Andy Warhol, Twiggy…. Edward dressed them all.

Born in Dagenham, Essex in 1942, Edward left school at 15 and became an apprentice cutter at Lew Rose on Commercial Road in the East End. From there he headed to Savile Row, where he worked for the equestrian tailor Harry Hall. Hall’s full, elaborate style and cut were a major influence on the young Edward. In 1962 he moved to Kilgour, French & Stanbury, where he worked under the tutelage of Fred Stanbury, another cutter with an eye for the individual, and really began to develop his own style.  And then, in 1966, he moved to Donaldson, Williams & G. Ward on Burlington Arcade, which is where he met Tommy Nutter.

In 1975 Edward set up shop on his own on Knightsbridge. It was here that he developed what would become his signature style: a meticulously cut double-breasted suit that, in his words, “makes a fat man look slimmer and can make a skinny guy look more beefy.” He also continued to make suits for Paul McCartney and helped the former Beatle’s daughter Stella with her Central Saint Martins graduate show, which was modelled by Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell. When she became Creative Director of Chloe, McCartney made Edward a consultant. Ever relevant, Edward returned to Savile Row in 2022 (so becoming a member of the SRBA) with the opening of a stunning new store at no. 35 where, still the perfectionist, he continued to work at his craft: “To keep the edge,’ he explained in 2016, “you’ve got to challenge yourself all the time.”

“Edward was a true talent and one of the few, true pattern-cutting Savile Row creatives who had a business founded in craft and technical ability,” Stella McCartney told WWD on her mentor’s passing. “My years spent as an apprentice to Edward were some of the most memorable and valuable of my career. He made my Saint Martins degree suits, and Naomi has never looked cooler. He was so much fun, a cheeky ‘live life in the moment’ man. What a sad day for British bespoke tailoring.”

SRBA chairman Mark Henderson comments: "All of us on the Row share in the sadness of losing Edward and wish the team at his eponymous business every success in building on his legendary work and reputation.’

Our condolences go to Edward’s family, friends and colleagues.